The third serve.
Watari hadn't even touched the first two balls, so his mindset was naturally a little shaken.
Ryosuke swung his arm for the third serve. He wasn't feeling great either—his left shoulder was starting to ache with a faint, pulling pain.
"Bang!"
The ball arced upward immediately—clearly a topspin.
Watari's entire body tensed. Lips pressed tight, he moved in to receive it.
As the ball flew toward him, Watari's eyes lit up.
This one was manageable!
He adjusted his steps, locked in the landing point, bent his body, and shifted his center of gravity to absorb the ball.
"Bang!"
He got it!
The joy hadn't even appeared on Watari's face yet when he realized—
the power behind the ball was too strong.
He didn't have time to soften the impact, and the ball bounced straight back out.
"Beeeep—"
The Aobajosai side fell into dead silence.
After a moment, voices began offering encouragement.
The veins on Oikawa's forehead were practically popping.
"It's fine, Watari! Next one—get it up!"
Watari nodded.
No one could quite see the expression in his eyes.
On Shiratorizawa's side, however, things were lively.
Everyone was cheering.
No one disliked this kind of exhilarating, power-fantasy-like momentum. No one.
"Ryosuke! Ryosuke! One more!"
"Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa!"
The stands were buzzing.
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes with a smile, which immediately triggered another wave of excited screams from the girls in the crowd.
He could even hear people calling his name.
He turned his head away with a slightly proud huff, looking just like an aloof cat.
...
In the infirmary, Tendo stared blankly at the livestream of the match.
He didn't even notice that his IV had already finished.
Watching Ryosuke smiling so brightly on the court, Tendo felt something in his chest burn.
…Such a beautiful cat…
…should be locked inside a cage made of gold.
Tendo's crimson pupils widened excitedly at the thought, his gaze growing sharp and predatory as he stared at the screen.
...
Back on the court, Ryosuke rolled his shoulder a little stiffly and stepped up with the volleyball to serve the fourth ball.
Oikawa's expression was dark.
These serves had already stretched the score to 19:16.
If Ryosuke scored again, Shiratorizawa would hit twenty.
That would be very bad.
Irihata noticed the subtle movement in Ryosuke's arm and said thoughtfully,
"The mistake will come within these next two serves."
Mizoguchi looked puzzled.
"How can you tell number six is about to make a mistake?"
Irihata smiled with narrowed eyes.
"The hook serve puts a huge strain on the body. And that kid clearly hasn't mastered it for long. His shoulder probably can't hold out much longer."
...
When Ryosuke served the fourth ball, the soreness in his arm was obvious.
He sighed quietly to himself.
He really shouldn't have used the hook serve in the prefectural tournament. He hadn't even fully mastered it yet, and now his arm couldn't handle it.
"Watari! Don't get nervous!"
"Bang!"
The fourth serve didn't carry the same power as before.
Purely because Ryosuke's arm limited his strength.
Otherwise, he probably could've shaved another five or six points off the board.
Watari adapted quickly.
In just three serves, he had already begun adjusting to the spin and speed.
Iwaizumi and Oikawa could only watch anxiously as the ball flew again.
Watari sprinted to adjust his position.
He glanced up at the ball and dashed forward.
Faster!
Just a little faster!
Just a bit more and he could reach it!
He threw himself forward in a diving save—
But the ball landed just a few centimeters from his fingertips.
So close.
Watari slammed his fist into the floor in frustration.
Oikawa reached down and pulled him up.
At that moment, Coach Irihata called a timeout.
Ryosuke, who had been ready to ride the momentum and take another point, walked off the court after hearing the whistle.
He looked a little dejected.
Irihata sighed.
That timeout had been called at exactly the right moment.
Judging from Ryosuke's expression, he probably felt the same—like he only had one serve left in him.
Usually, Irihata didn't interfere much during matches or practice games.
After all, with Oikawa as captain, he rarely needed to step in.
But today, Oikawa's state was clearly off.
As expected.
Whenever Oikawa faced Shiratorizawa, he became a little different.
Irihata gathered the team.
"Don't worry about the serve. The timeout will break number six's rhythm, and his body won't allow him to keep serving like that anyway."
The team collectively relaxed.
Those serves had been terrifying.
Taking a few more of those would feel like shortening their lifespan.
"Oikawa, come here a moment."
Irihata specifically called him over.
Iwaizumi turned around in confusion, but Oikawa gave him a reassuring smile before following the coach aside.
Even though Irihata rarely interfered with Oikawa, he could always tell when something was wrong.
"You're pushing yourself too far today."
He cut straight to the point.
Oikawa clenched his fist and nodded.
He had noticed it too.
Compared to normal matches, he was far more excited—mentally and physically.
"A string stretched too tight will snap. Don't rush. Take it slowly."
In the first half of the set, Oikawa had clearly been more impulsive than usual.
Shiratorizawa.
Ushijima.
They had become his mental knot.
Irihata gave a few brief reminders before letting him go.
The timeout was only one minute, after all.
When Oikawa returned, Iwaizumi leaned closer.
"What happened? Coach chew you out?"
Oikawa grinned.
"What's this, Iwa-chan? Worried about me?"
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.
Seeing Oikawa acting normal again, he assumed it wasn't anything serious.
He shoved a towel into Oikawa's hands and turned away.
"Oi oi oi, is Iwa-chan mad~?"
What Iwaizumi didn't see was that the moment he turned away, Oikawa's smile vanished.
His expression went quiet.
Impossible to read.
Oikawa had clearly felt how overexcited he'd been during the match.
"Tch."
He regretted it.
He had wasted most of the set.
Oikawa's greatest strength was using tactics and strategy to defeat opponents stronger than Aobajosai.
Today, he'd been too impulsive.
Maybe Shiratorizawa's lineup full of geniuses had gotten under his skin.
Taking a breath, Oikawa pulled his thoughts back together.
The familiar playful smile returned to his face.
The carefree captain was back.
...
On Shiratorizawa's side, Reon and Goshiki had practically latched onto Ryosuke.
They were ecstatic.
Yamagata circled him while talking nonstop.
"Nice one, kid! Hahaha!"
"Ryosuke, you're amazing!"
Ryosuke was almost getting drunk on all the praise.
Ushijima finally stepped in and calmly pulled him out of the three-person pile.
Ryosuke leaned against Ushijima and gave him a slightly dazed smile.
Watching this, Coach Washijō's originally stern expression softened slightly.
"I won't say much about your performance in this set. I hope you all know your own problems."
"Anyone who dodged spikes, slacked off, or spaced out…"
"Add extra practice after the match."
Washijō's eyes were like rulers measuring every movement.
Some players looked guilty.
Others looked completely shameless.
Washijō didn't even want to look.
"The first set is almost over. That kid Oikawa likes pulling strange tricks. Stay alert."
"Yes, sir!"
Washijō sat down again.
Reon couldn't help thinking that the coach's temper had been getting better lately.
After all, once you stay at Shiratorizawa long enough, you see everything.
At this rate, it wouldn't even be strange if someone suddenly announced they had a boyfriend someday.
(Flag warning.)
...
"Beeeep—"
Timeout ended.
Both teams returned to the court.
Oikawa looked calmer now.
Before the timeout, Watari hadn't received that serve.
So Ryosuke stepped up again with the ball.
Watari felt annoyed just looking at him.
But remembering Irihata's words—don't worry about the serve—he calmed down a little.
The timeout had broken Ryosuke's rhythm.
Now he would have to feel things out again.
"Bang!"
Another hook serve.
Because of his arm and fading feel, the ball carried less power.
Even the sound of contact was different.
This one's doable!
Watari saw the sidespin clearly and got excited.
He rolled forward and received the ball cleanly.
"Bang!"
"Ohhhh nice one, Watari!"
"Nice!"
Watari felt relieved.
Finally.
The suffocating domination was over.
The first pass went to Oikawa.
Goshiki happened to be standing right in front of him.
A faint smile curled at the corner of Oikawa's lips.
He subtly began misleading Goshiki.
His eyes shifted slightly to the left.
Goshiki instinctively looked that way too.
The next second—
Oikawa scored with a setter dump.
Ryosuke had been watching Iwaizumi.
Ushijima and Reon were ready to attack.
The ball dropped perfectly at Goshiki's feet.
"Beeeep—"
"Ah! Sorry!"
Goshiki looked so frustrated he almost cried.
The ball had slipped away right in front of him.
Before Reon could even comfort him—
Washijō's voice roared across the court.
"Tsutomu Goshiki! What are you doing?! Your eyes aren't decorations! Move! Jump! You're standing there like a wooden post!"
Everyone who had been about to comfort Goshiki immediately shrank back.
No one wanted to get caught in the blast.
On the other side of the net, Oikawa continued provoking him.
"Hey, number eight. You play this badly and still want to block me?"
He even added a shameless grin.
Goshiki exploded with anger.
Even his bowl-cut bangs puffed up.
Iwaizumi covered his face in headache and dragged Oikawa away.
Someone seriously needed to control Oikawa's mouth.
Otherwise one day someone would absolutely drag him into an alley with a sack.
Ryosuke could only sigh helplessly.
Why did Oikawa-senpai enjoy provoking people so much?
...
Oikawa walked to the service line with a smile, but he wasn't confident.
He could only increase the power of the serve and speed it up.
That libero looked simple-minded, but overly tricky balls were seen through immediately.
Maybe this was what people meant by "great wisdom appearing foolish."
Seeing Oikawa serve again, Kageyama got excited.
Oikawa's serves were too fast.
Back in middle school, Kageyama never had a chance to observe them properly.
Oikawa used to practice secretly just to prevent Kageyama from learning.
But Kageyama still secretly learned it—and succeeded.
For a while after that, Oikawa almost stopped talking entirely.
Now Kageyama pulled out a notebook and scribbled furiously.
One refused to teach.
One insisted on learning.
You run, I chase.
You can't escape.
Ennoshita watched Kageyama's frantic note-taking and clicked his tongue.
For someone with such a top-student face…
that handwriting was really something.
He folded his arms and looked back at the match.
By the time this game ended, Oikawa's serve might no longer be Miyagi's most threatening one.
The Volleyball Monthly spread about Oikawa would probably have to give half its space to number six.
That number six.
After just one prefectural tournament…
he had truly soared.
...
Oikawa secretly increased the power of his serve and aimed at Yamagata.
This ball carried his full strength.
"OH—HEY!"
"Bang!"
Yamagata's pupils shrank.
Too fast!
He instinctively moved forward to receive it.
But when the ball approached, something felt wrong.
In a split second—
he shifted position.
"Out!"
"Bang!"
The ball grazed past Yamagata's left side and flew out of bounds.
"Beeeep—"
Yamagata let out a breath.
"Nice judgment," Reon said, also relaxing.
Hearing "out" earlier, he hadn't quite believed it.
After all, Oikawa rarely made mistakes in official matches.
"Ahh—sorry!"
Oikawa grabbed his head in frustration.
Still not working?
How could he make the serve both fast and precise enough to score untouched?
Was it really impossible?
Iwaizumi kicked him impatiently.
"Get up, Trash-kawa! No fooling around in the finals!"
"Got it, Iwa-chan~"
That failed serve pushed Shiratorizawa to twenty points.
The first set was basically secured.
Next up was Shiratorizawa's serve.
Goshiki stepped up with burning determination.
He absolutely had to win that point back himself.
The sulking determination on his face was almost painful to watch.
He aimed directly at Oikawa and launched a powerful jump serve.
"Bang!"
Oikawa raised an eyebrow.
Was the bowl-cut kid challenging him?
He casually switched positions with Matsukawa.
Matsukawa received the ball.
Oikawa flashed Goshiki a bright smile.
Goshiki's face turned bright red with anger.
The ball was eventually set to Hanamaki.
Goshiki rushed forward to block.
Their eyes met.
Hanamaki smashed the ball straight through Goshiki's block.
"Nice spike."
But the ball was dug up again by Yamagata.
The cycle repeated.
When Aobajosai spiked at Goshiki's block again, Shirabu frowned.
Were they targeting him?
Not just Shirabu.
Even Ushijima noticed.
From the beginning of the set, Aobajosai's spikes had been stopped by Ryosuke's block.
So they started attacking Goshiki instead.
Every time they avoided Ryosuke.
Goshiki himself didn't realize at all.
Even after being targeted for an entire set, he just thought his technique wasn't good enough.
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes, thinking.
Now it was Hanamaki's turn to serve.
After a moment, Ryosuke pulled the still-grinning Goshiki closer and whispered something.
Goshiki's eyes lit up instantly.
He nodded eagerly.
Hanamaki launched a powerful jump serve.
Yamagata looked up and received it cleanly.
The ball flew to Shirabu.
Without hesitation, he set to Ushijima.
Reon ran to clear a path.
Ryosuke and Goshiki stood at the net, ensuring the attack would land.
"Bang!"
The spike smashed through the block—
off the hands and out.
Matsukawa rubbed his arm with a grimace.
Impossible to block.
Absolutely impossible.
"Beeeep—Beeeep!"
The first set ended.
Shiratorizawa 1
Aobajosai 0
...
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